


Alis Grave Nil

by TheSmellOfDustAfterRain



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 05:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12928770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSmellOfDustAfterRain/pseuds/TheSmellOfDustAfterRain





	Alis Grave Nil

The wind whistled in Virgil’s ears and chilled his face, but he would gladly brave the slight cold for a chance to stretch his wings. With the cold coming, it was ill-advised to fly, but it was mild for November and Virgil absolutely needed to stretch his cramped wings.

Virgil always felt a sense of ease while flying, he didn’t have to worry about all the things that could go wrong on land. Not to say the air was completely without dangers. While the Aves were mostly accepted by humans, there were still those who did not think the winged should be welcome. You couldn’t go one week without hearing about another Avis becoming the victim of ‘pheasant hunting,’ the act of deliberately flying drones into an Avis in flight.

The tracker in Virgil’s watch beeped, alerting him that he was nearing the fly-zone perimeter. All Aves were required to wear a tracker and activate it while flying. They were supposed to protect them while they are flying by alerting them to potential flight hazards, but really it just made them easier to target and take down.

Seeing that it was nearing curfew, Virgil turned back to the take-off/landing zone. The gravel of the roof slid under his feet. He fetched his coat from one of the lockers, checked to make sure his wallet, phone, and keys were still there, and made his way to the stairs. The elevator did not reach to the twelfth floor of the chemistry building, so he walked down the two flights of stairs to catch it on the tenth floor.

He contemplated in silence as he walked to the apartment he shared with his boyfriends. Roman, Logan, Patton, and he had all met their first year in college when they were put together for a group project. Work sessions which became study sessions which became causally hanging out. By the end of their freshman year, they had all admitted they had developed feelings for the others. Though separated by different states over the summer, they stayed in contact.

They had FaceTime dates and texted early into the morning and even mailed each other gifts. They learned everything about the others. Like, how Patton was allergic to cats yet wanted to be a vet, or that Logan was utterly tone deaf and couldn’t carry a tune to save his life but could rap brilliantly, or that Roman owed an actual sword.

Which brought Virgil to his current line of thinking. They had shared everything with each other, all their secrets, but he had yet to tell them he was an Avis. He had thought anxiously about how he would tell them all summer and still hadn’t decided on a way before their sophomore year began. They’d been living together for three months and he still hadn’t told them, and his wings were paying the price. Keeping them tucked under his jackets made them cramp and hurt all of the time.

 _I have to tell them_ , Virgil thought to himself _. When the cold finally comes, and flying isn’t an option, I will need to stretch my wings inside and my bedroom is too small for them to fully extend._

Virgil decided to wait until after fall break to tell them. That gave him two weeks to find the words. It also gave him time to look for a new place to stay, should they decided they didn’t want a winged human in their house and in their lives.

Virgil desperately hoped the others were asleep as he approached their apartment. When he saw the living room light on through the window, his heart sank. He hated lying to his boyfriends. He was beginning to think they were starting to see through his story that he was getting help at the chemistry resource center, Logan had been offering to help him more and more frequently.

Virgil unlocked the door of their apartment and was greeted with the sight of Roman and Logan on the couch. In the kitchen, he heard Patton loudly cleaning the dishes.

 _Shit,_ thought Virgil. Patton was a stress cleaner; he’s usually fairly relaxed about cleaning, but when he’s worried or under pressure the whole house becomes spotless.

“Pat,” Roman called, “he’s here.”

Virgil’s stomach dropped. _I’m not ready to tell them, yet._

Patton popped his head out from around the wall. When he saw Virgil, his face took on a weirdly sad look. He dried his hands and went to sit with the other two on the couch.

 _Time to face the music,_ Virgil thought as he was down facing them.

“So, how was your studying?” Logan asked, his voice sharp.

“Fine,” Virgil murmured.

“Are you getting all the help you need?”

“Yeah.” Virgil’s face flushed with shame and he ducked his head, so they couldn’t see.

“Well, that’s funny. See, I texted Caleb, my lab partner in chemistry. He tutors at the resource center, and when I asked if he’d seen you, he said he hadn’t. Not once.  And, certainly not tonight.” Logan’s voice was filled with disappointment and betrayal. “Where were you?”

 _Now or never,_ thought Virgil. “I was… exercising.” _Apparently, I’m going with never._

This seemed to be the final straw for Roman, who had up until this point been clenching and unclenching his fist on his thigh. “Cut the crap,” he said loudly. “We know what’s going on. We know what you were doing.”

Virgil’s heart was pounding in his chest. “I can explain. I know I should have told you. I know I shouldn’t have lied. I wanted to tell you. I just couldn’t figure out how to tell you. I’m so sorry.”

Patton was on the verge of tears, Logan had put on a cold mask that barely covered his anger, and Roman was furious.

“You’re sorry,” he yelled. “You think you can just apologize and everything will be fine. You lied to us for months. Months!”

“I know,” Virgil cried, shaking. “I know I should have said something. I just couldn’t. I wanted to tell you. I tried to tell you. I didn’t want to have to lie to you. I love you all and I didn’t want you to hate me and I’m so stupid for lying.” Virgil was close to having a panic attack, his breathing was shallow and fast, and his hands were trembling. “I’ll get my stuff together and leave.”

 _StupidStupidStupid,_ he repeated over and over again in his head as he stood up.

“What’s his name?” Patton asked, quietly.

Virgil stopped dead. “What?”

“What’s his name?” Patton asked again, “The guy you’re cheating on us with.”

“You think I’m…” Virgil’s vision blurred, and he felt like the room was spinning. He sat back down. “You think I’m cheating on you?” he whispered.

The looks of anger and hurt on the faces of the three were replaced with confusion.

“I’m not… I’m not cheating. I love you all. I love you more than anything.”

“Then what was with all of the lies and secrets?” Logan asked. “Where were you tonight?”

“The chemistry building.”

“Stop lying,” Roman interjected.

“I’m not lying. I was at the chemistry building. On the roof.”

“You can’t get on the roof,” Roman said, his voice rising in volume again.

“Roman,” Logan tried to say. But, Roman just kept talking.

“It’s special access. Aves only.”

“Roman,” Logan tried again.

“You have to have a key card and everything.”

“Roman.” That one got through.

“What?”

A thump drew all eyes to the coffee table, where Virgil had just tossed his wallet down.

“Open it,” Virgil said.

Roman picked up the black, leather bifold and opened it. In one window pocket was Virgil’s school ID. In the other was a card neither Roman, Patton, nor Logan had never seen. It was red, with Virgil’s photo, and his name and ‘Aves access. Fly zone: T. F. Sanders Chemistry Center’ printed in white.

The three looked back up, where they saw Virgil removing his jacket, the jacket they had never seen him without. Their jaws dropped in unison as a large pair of wings unfurled. They were glossy, black except for pristine white feathers at the tips.

“Ahhhhhhh, they’re so pretty,” Patton shrieked, though he apologized when Virgil flinched.

“Fascinating. Amazing,” Logan said. “How did you manage to conceal them for so long?”

“Painfully,” Virgil answered.

Roman was still looking at him in anger. This hurt Virgil. Of all of his boyfriends, he thought Roman would be the most accepting as Aves tended to flock to theater professions, and he had performed with several.

“Something wrong,” Virgil spat at the actor. “Do I make you feel disgusted?”

“No, you make me feel like an ass,” Roman said. “I’m angry at myself for thinking that you’d lie and cheat. Though, to be fair, you still lied.”

“I never actually lied, I just never told you.”

“You lied about getting help at the resource center,” Logan said.

“Okay, yes. I lied about the resource center,” Virgil said with a small smile.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Patton asked.

“I mean, at first, we only knew each other because of a stupid project, then when we would study together. Then we started just hanging out for fun and…”

“And, what?” Roman asked.

“And, I was scared you wouldn’t want to be friends with me if you knew. I never had any friends. Kids can be mean.  Mine was the only Aves family in town, it made me an easy target.”

“Oh, Virgil,” Patton cooed.

“When we started dating, I knew I had to tell you. Over the summer, I had anxiety attack after anxiety attack thinking of how to do it.”

Virgil’s wings started curling around him, like a feathery cocoon.

“Virgil, we love you,” Patton said.

“We would never do anything to hurt you,” Roman added.

“Never,” Logan affirmed.

Virgil let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and the tears which he’d been fighting back finally sprang free.

Patton got up and knelt in front of Virgil. “Can I hug you?” he asked.

Virgil nodded softly. “Please.”

His wings pulled back and Patton attached himself to his crying boyfriend. Logan and Roman got up as well and joined the embrace. Virgil’s wing again closed together, enveloping the four in a warmth they knew would never leave them.


End file.
